Revealed: Wigan’s biggest potholes

Menace: One of 92,000 holes in Lancashire soon to be filled in

THE number of Wigan roads in desperate need of repair are revealed today after council chiefs were awarded a slice of a £168m repair fund.

Council officials consider a total of 14 roads in the borough are in such a state of disrepair they require urgent maintenance work.

And they insist the figures show that with just three per cent of roads needing work Wigan has one of the best-kept highways networks in the region.

Town hall officials were recently awarded cash for a central government pothole fund, giving them a sizeable chunk of cash to repair local roads.

They have also set aside £500,000 for the council’s own highways budget to further improve the network.

Mark Tilley, assistant director of infrastructure at Wigan Council, said that the upkeep of the borough’s roads was one of his department’s main priorities.

He said: “We work extremely hard to make sure all roads in the borough are in an excellent condition, and are safe and smooth for motorists, cyclists and other road users.

“The fact this figure is one of the lowest in Greater Manchester emphasises this, particularly when you consider that we have the second longest highway network in the region. We are determined to continue reducing this figure.

“To help us monitor the quality of roads, we use a condition indicator. It gives us information on a representative section of the network, and helps us to find out when a road is in need of treatment, such as if it has potholes or small cracks, or if there are problems underneath the surface. The data it provides means we can plan the repairs quickly, without causing disruption for road users.

“We have plans to resurface a number of our major roads over the next few months.

We have also set aside £500,000 in our budget for pothole repairs, and will be putting in a bid for a share of the government’s pothole fund.”

Council officials have a dedicated line for residents’ concerns about the state of a road to call.

Once they receive a complaint, workers will be dispatched to the scene to review whether engineering work is required.

The three per cent of roads which are in need of repair would typically include filling in potholes and levelling uneven surfaces.

The roads in need of repair include the town centre’s A49 Riverway, adjacent Millgate Car Park, Pemberton Road in Winstanley, Newton Road in Lowton, Darlington Street in Ince, Central Park Way at the Tesco Junction, Wigan Road in the town centre, Wigan Road in Bryn, Warrington Road at the Black Diamond Roundabout in Ince, Castle Street in Tyldesley, Newton Road in Lowton East, Caroline Street at Wallgate and Orrell Road at the M6 Motorway Bridge in Orrell.